The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1887-10-07


Irench-IIow Prisoners wero Thrown
Int" Living TonIb-ISaEed To the
Ground.
July "A Is the French Fourth Of July.
On that day, IN l-Sg. tho Bastile was
rszcd 10 the ground. That act meant %
france what the Declaration OF indie
1cudcHcc meant t. th, United States. II
Is a great dIr o. the great French nation,
and well il may be-
The Ra.tite was built by Charles Y. in
1869. For more than 100 years II was tho
last argument which tho French kings
had used e. convince their subjects. Fight
massive round towers Connected by walls
OF trrmer tous thlrkr s-s, the whole sur
rounded by ditch % feet IL dcpth-thls
w@s tLC gloomy fpshiddIug prison that
had come T. be- in tho sight Of French
men the perpetual, awful symbol Or their
wrongs. Il stood L. them III the -mbodi-
mem Of power slS potent ~ the pr-tcuSo
OF thcir kiU-s-thc power oi God himself;
u represented = c--r!ty a. profound and
!upiCCah.e - that which tho t.-4Shers
which tyranny f-tcrrd declared WIS u
D. the portion after dcSth Of al who dir
Pu.ed the justice Ji which II VS. the ter
r.b.e Instrument. Into tn gloomy IHEw
af tAis irightiul prison had been plunged
generation after generation, the wIsySt,
fN--C7Nr f.AeNfNH7-s 49, Va III gADliAt u
France.
Did = man dare 70 protest against tho
doctrine that the people were born 70 toll
iCr kings, priests and mobiles, he wis sent
10 the B1stIlc 10 change his mind, OF %
Uad within Is damp and Tayless,sclls-
Did genius after some thought that had
not first beer submitted To- Ii. CeEst Is Of
these same kings and priests aud mobiles,
that BastIle opened its Jaws IL him and
he come no forth till he had learned to
keep 10 himself the truth that was il him,
did some f-thcr have daughter some
husband wife, that kinglv or artist cratic
.ust coveted. and did he stand between
the purity oi that daughter or wife and
shame Jhks WAS worse than deA5n, into
the BastI'c nc went, perhaps never to
come out alive. The man oftthe iron
mask" was no myth tn the people of
France. lie stood for 4 class. His story
was the story Of thousands. Tuo mask
WIS but .he symbol of the complete loss
} OF identity that fell To tine lot Of countless
prisoners in the centuries during which
the Bas.ilc numbered the earth
II only the advocates ofpatrioti-rn tho
/ children II genius, the defenders Of
I domestic virtue Asd been smo.hered in
! the Ba.tii-, it might have stood centuries
.ouger. E.t the hauIs that held tho
, keys o' that prison reached forth IN 11SJ
| as they had for generations aTl took the
substance OF tho lwoplc 10 lavish the
proceeds thereof upon iayoG .s. Who
We're THESE 'lyurIt--E There were l%O-
J 40 o. thvg who hold office H. tin. -.ryirc
% the church. There Wc.. A. 900 mobiles
I Who ad uo.4inG except t. live upon the
aHoE9 nf H.. U,an." HUe-G.tl of the
[ .'ai r,ouv ! To- Tia. church. euc-Gtlh 10
/ he nobility. uuc-titu 10 tire comuunGS
/ auG tlc king. This left the Jj,Otnu0J of
I common people the owners Of twO-ui;hs
only 4 the land. But il ~a> the poorest
! and il France tha, the common people
we've allowed % own. The richest and
best 20 - Hn|uuE-.. tp the few Speaking
upon this point Ilius -uvS: 1t thc land
ul III" TrlFTt"-'l' comprises almost all
the .ur-. and handsome buildings, the
palaces. castles. cuuveEt~ and CathriralS,
auC almost all LEc valuable movable
property. SuCh ~ furniture plate. objects
ct -rt. the accumulated masterpieces OF
centuries We Csu judge Of IL by the
PsT.Iou belonging u the clergy. Its pos
sessions capitalized amounted u nearly
four billions ui francs. The income from
;ais amounted g. Su,O0OOIu 20 lulUpnoJD
francs, to which must be- s4dei the. Tir4s
or rithcs. l2G,O1luuO francs per znuum :
IL EI. 2uuUIo.uNL = sum which mus. b,.
doubled L. show il equivalent n the
present day, and - this must bs added
the chance contributions and the usual
church collections
The theory uf tho government was tho
same - in the t1y- pf Louis the NV
A our own historian. Ridpath. has said {:
The theory reduced tu Sc formula ran
thus. Il D. tho aItv tho business
the state o. teach men what Things t. do
suG uf tho ChurcE L. teach them what
thi--s TO believe. As for Iaau. IL il his
buEIUcs- To- l.c governed. That i s-ard
was-thr object of lis Cr-NLiD-." D." There
~ france a trw E-GrS OF tI0 first mag
E:tUic. but mo- other stars. There were a
.rw ,nou-aut OF ttr fIygrit.s. and mill
lions upon rri.iIoG~ IT uuhpuicS In IISq
tAc uohotlcs were without ioad. without
C.0t-iE- without hope. ThcirCplr--Sprs
bad w.ur, p-Icuck-, brains jewcllcI
rtlmeut, thr.r TOmpaIoUrs. They owned
amor = them some dozen in all OF protcc-
tlou-Waia poets, s-ti-tS and scientists
MVcG good wore these P"ctsan8 scientists
20 u people who hat been protected from
the sin OF knowing how u read.
l}us ono day, that of July l4. -ITCq. the
pcopia, rather than stsyrvc To- death enter
a protest against the representatives. IF
the tE-h"r.y idea in government. and
Iouis the NNI, his mobiles and his
priests look into tho hell Ui the French
revolution.
Whcl the Eastilc fell men were blinded
by tie dust % u AMI CROPPED wildly about
n thcsr righteous wrath that sought to
Teve=Ce -hc wrongs Of ag.= What wonder
/: in 1hi~ groping and striking :hcv
t0UChrd the innocent with the guilty?
The h;a,d things OF sll timO had hcon
doomed, and along with them went many
noble ana beautiful objects that it would
have beer better could they have been
spared I wrath that would not stop till
the .ast stone OF the Ha-tjle was leyrlcd
20 the ground, was wrath that had nc
time To discriminate. II was a wrath
which Carlyle has described as truth
clothed III hell fire.
The site 81 the BaStilc IS now marked
by lofty CoIImn of bronze dedicated to
the memory II the patriots OF l7Sg and
$50. The key ol the 8aStilc WAS sent bv
lafayette 20 George Washington. and It
= now one OF the objects OF interest to all
who visit Mt Vernon What q fitting
'uNropp~ition. Tho KEY is the dark hack
ground that sor~Cs, better than auv other
Imaginable one. to bring ont Ihc noble
figure of WashingtOu's chief Of the worlds
past cmancipators-
Snakes In Georgia.
Nurrv is dry county, AMI the Rows
say that the snakes aud measles ar. 80
bad that they tine hov- ara obliged 10